A new ad released Tuesday by the Republican National Committee harshly criticized President Barack Obama for what the GOP has called "empty promises" to cut the budget deficit.
"Barack Obama promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term but has run trillion dollar deficits every year since. Now, as he's campaigning for a second term, he's making the same empty promises he made four years ago," an RNC press release announcing the ad stated.
The ad features video vignettes of Obama promising to cut the budget deficit in half by this year while an accompanying tally shows how the deficit has increased under the President's watch. The ad also features snapshots of news headlines highlighting the Solyndra and GSA funding scandals.
Solyndra, a solar power company that went belly up in September 2011, received a $535 million federal loan guarantee for construction of its solar photovoltaic panels.
The General Services Administration (GSA) underwent their own scandal this year after an employee made a video making light of the money the department wasted on high-profile events such as its annual conference. Upon further investigation, it was discovered over $800,000 was spent on the annual conference in Las Vegas.
The one-minute GOP ad entitled "Empty Promises: Debt and Deficits," aims to counter a push by the Obama campaign to frame presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's business past in a negative light.
Obama for America held a conference call Monday and revealed a six-minute video and Web site that raises questions about Romney's leadership at Bain Capital.
"Romney's business strategy wasn't about strengthening companies and creating jobs for long-term economic growth," the Obama campaign said in a statement. "It wasn't about investors and workers playing by the same set of rules, and it certainly wasn't about creating an economy built to last by rewarding hard work and responsibility and strengthening the security of middle-class families."
The RNC will also hold a series of conference calls in swing states focusing on Obama's economic policies and the national debt. In these calls, Republican leadership aims to call positive attention to Romney's past business successes while framing the President as a Washington insider weak on the economy.
"Barack Obama is right - the American people are tired of politicians who talk the talk but don't walk the walk when it comes to fiscal responsibility," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in the press release. "After four years of lip-service on spending, it is clear that Barack Obama is just a typical politician, saying one thing to get elected and doing another once in office."
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.